Oldenlandia capensis, Karamyschewia hedyotoides,
Theyodis octodon, Oldenlandia hedyotoides, Madder,
Hebrew: אולדנית הכף

Scientific name:  Oldenlandia capensis L.f.
Synonym name:  Karamyschewia hedyotoides Fisch. & C.A.Mey. , Theyodis octodon A.Rich.,
Oldenlandia hedyotoides (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Boiss.
Common name:  Madder
Hebrew name:  אולדנית הכף
Family:  Rubiaceae, פואתיים
Oldenlandia capensis, Karamyschewia hedyotoides, Theyodis octodon, Madder, אולדנית הכף
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool

Life form:  Therophyte, annual
Stems:  8-22cm tall; stems branche, glabrescent or with miutely setulose ribs
Leaves:  Opposite, entire, smooth margin
Inflorescence:  Sometimes solitary at the nodes or few in subsessile axillary fascicles
Flowers:  Corolla white, deep lilac, dull reddish, pink or lilac; tube 0.6–0.9 mm. long, cylindrical; lobes 4, 0.5–0.6 mm. long. Anthers included. Style 0.2 mm. long, glabrous; stigma lobes 0.2 mm. long, adjacent to the anthers
Fruits / pods:  Capsule 1.75–2 mm. long and white, obconic, glabrous or shortly pubescent, the beak straight, slightly raised, 0.3–0.4 mm. tall. Seeds brown, 0.3 mm. long, ellipsoid-angular or ± cone-shaped with flat base
Flowering Period:  August, September
Habitat:  Humid habitats
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:   Tropical
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Oldenlandia capensis, Karamyschewia hedyotoides, Theyodis octodon, Oldenlandia hedyotoides, Madder, אולדנית הכף
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool


Derivation of the botanical name:
Oldenlandia, after the Danish botanist Henrik Bernard Oldenland (c.1663-1699), physician, naturalist, plant collector at the Cape of the Good Hope and Curator-Superintendent of the Botanical Garden of the Dutch East Indian Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch).
capensis, "of the Cape".
Karamyschewia, named for Alexander von Karamyschew (1744 - 1791), Russian botanist and student of Carolus Linnaeus.
hedyotoides, Greek hedys, sweet, - might be referring to the sweet-scented flowers; ot -referring to an ear; -oides -οειδεϛ , adjective suffix for nouns: like, resemble.
octodon, octo, eight; eight-toothed.
The Hebrew name: אולדנית, Oldanit, translation and transliteration from the scientific name.
  • The standard author abbreviation L.f. is used to indicate Carolus Linnaeus the Younger (1741 – 1783), a Swedish naturalist. He is known as Linnaeus filius, to distinguish him from his famous father, the systematist Carolus Linnaeus.
  • The standard author abbreviation Fisch. is used to indicate Friedrich Ernst Ludwig von Fischer (1782 – 1854), a Russian botanist, born in Germany.
  • The standard author abbreviation C.A.Mey. is used to indicate Carl Anton von Meyer (1795 – 1855), a Russian botanist and explorer.
  • The standard author abbreviation A.Rich. is used to indicate Achille Richard (1794 – 1852), a French botanist and physician.
  • The standard author abbreviation ) Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
Oldenlandia capensis, Karamyschewia hedyotoides, Theyodis octodon, Madder, אולדנית הכף
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool